Engines revved. Bikers whooped and hollered. American flags displayed on the back of some bikes unfurled in the breeze.

It was time to ride.

At 6 p.m. Friday, under sunny skies and humid conditions, waves of motorcyclists began the long procession from the parking lots at the new Harley-Davidson of Erie dealership at 3712 W. 12th St. in Millcreek Township.

Erie Mayor Joe Sinnott was in the lead for the Roar on the Shore motorcycle rally's Thunder on the Isle: The Mayor's Ride around Presque Isle State Park.

It took nearly 20 minutes before the last bike left the dealership's lots.

People at picnics, sunbathers, beach volleyball players and some who parked chairs along the road at the peninsula watched the parade, waving and offering support.

"It's really nice to get out on the park and see all the people watching and looking in the mirror and seeing all the bikes going back as far as I can see,'' Sinnott said. "It's really a lot of fun.''

The ride, which highlighted the second day of the sixth annual Roar event, attracted legions of Harley aficionados to the 60,000-square-foot dealership, which opened July 5.

Dale Vernick and his wife, Kiesha, who live near Washington, D.C., motored 435 miles on their BMW bike to Erie on Thursday so they could participate in Friday's ride.

Vernick, a Mercyhurst College graduate, said he had heard about the event's popularity over the past two years.

"I heard it's a pretty good time, and there's a lot of bikes here making a lot of noise,'' he said. "I know it's the Mayor's Ride, and we thought it would be kind of cool to come out here and support it.''

Gary Moore, 63, of New Wilmington, spent the afternoon checking out the new Harley dealership.

"It ranks up there with the best I've been in,'' he said. "The only one I can think of that is bigger is the Daytona (Fla.) Harley shop. That one is huge.''

Co-owners Kelly Lapping and his wife, Susan, opened their relocated business in a renovated building that formerly housed the Quality Markets store.

It's a huge step up from their former 17,000-square-foot Harley dealership at 4575 West Ridge Road in Millcreek Township.

Purchasing and renovating the building cost about $3.2 million. About 45,000 square feet are designated for the dealership, and plans include 15,000 square feet for retail businesses and a restaurant.

"The customers and visitors to our community who are seeing our dealership for the first time are raving about it,'' Kelly Lapping said. "They love all the room and how it's decorated. They're giving us two thumbs up.''

Visitors wandered about a spacious showroom Friday morning and afternoon, looking at nearly 60 displayed motorcycles, racks of clothing and tables of mugs, glassware and other souvenirs.

The biggest seller was T-shirts. Customers bought more than 800, the store's general manager, Laurie Thompson, said.

Some patrons splurged and bought new rides; six bikes were sold Friday before 1 p.m., Kelly Lapping said. Staff sold four bikes Thursday, he said.

As sponsor of the Thunder on the Isle: The Mayor's Ride, the Lappings could squeeze in about 800 motorcycles in their parking lot and a few adjacent fields at their former dealership.

The large parking lots at their new dealership easily handled all the bikes, five vendor tents, and a stage where local band Rick Magee and the Roadhouse Rockers entertained crowds.

"Being able to have the band is like the best thing for us,'' Thompson said. "We were never able to have live entertainment before.''

A Harley-Davidson tractor-trailer, which contained 18 demonstration motorcycles, was parked next to the stage.

Demonstration rides were available every hour to licensed drivers 21 and older.

The Harley demonstration fleet truck is visiting Erie from Harley's headquarters in Milwaukee.

"We could fit a semi in our old parking lot, but you couldn't fit anything else in it,'' Kelly Lapping said, laughing. "We could put a semi in there and put all the motorcycles out on the road.''